| Username |
Post |
| meera |
Posted
on 19-May-04 08:35 PM
“Es le ta keta nai paudaina bihe garna” says my dad. After all at 8, I was way too tall compared to other children my age. “Yo motauda pani motaudina, haddi che mero chori.” Mom smiles and says, “Pachi hernus na, yo sab bhanda moti hunche.” Both of them turned out to be wrong as I didn’t grow much taller and am still a ‘haddi’ Being ‘haddi’ is not that bad a thing for here; thin people are called slim and are considered fashionable but shortness isn’t. Hence my nickname in the college “Little Girl.” We used to barbecue deer’s meat that he imported from Madesh. He would burn daura and roast the meat above it, mom would be busy making rice and aloo ko acchar inside. We children would be running everywhere. Every year when we came home from the hostel for the winter break, dad would cook deer’s meat. He would have tons of beer bottles to go with the food. It was like celebrating Nepali ThanksGiving. Today, I am missing my dad a lot. He passed away at the age of 40, the first one in his family to do so. Today is his 10th death anniversary. “Shraddh” must be going on at home, my sister must be helping mom cook. Dad would say, “Either speak the full sentence in Nepali or in English” but he preferred me to speak in Nepali. His favorite quote was, “Nepali kukur ko Angrezi Bhukai.” Having never studied in Nepal, he gave utmost importance to Nepali culture and language. Ironically I landed up going to a boarding school which I doubt helped preserve our culture. The problem with boarding school is that we always have to speak in English, well then when do you learn Nepali? Especially students like me who live in a hostel and rarely go home. The only Nepali we ever got to practice was in Nepali class. Every year tons of students giving SLC fail in Nepali. Most of them must have lived in hostel. It wasn’t like that the English they taught was perfect!! As was the fashion, our typical sentence would include both English and Nepali words. Since both my sister and me lived in a hostel for the major part of our childhood and we still talk to each other in English and then revert back to Nepali after we realize it. Today she was explaining to me why she didn’t go to school, “My daat is dukhing so didn’t go kya.” So exactly the way I spoke back then. I remember getting punished for speaking in Nepali i.e. I spoke a full sentence in Nepali. I had to write 200 times, “I will not speak in Nepali again.”
One thing which was sure about dad is that he very much supported the feminist movement. I must have got that from him for I go on and on about how women are treated unfairly which gets on my friends’ nerves. I do know a certain female politician who is also fighting for the women’s rights. Unfortunately, she has an underage girl working for her whom she pays nothing. She has put her in school which is a great thing but the girl has to do housework as soon as she comes back from school, so when is she to study? If only dad was alive, he would have told the woman exactly what he thought of her.
To all the fathersof this world, this Meera says ThankYou !
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| confused |
Posted
on 19-May-04 09:05 PM
merra, i fully agree with you, and i have also emphasized this issue on some stories i have wrote here on sajha...well, i also stayed in hostel, but us being guys, we always liked to break the rules, so we use to talk in nepali " knowingly" that we would be punished for that.. and we use to be punished and whipped with a bamboo sticks several times...for that kinda action...
women rights, eeh! no one will beat my mom when she starts arguing abt women's right ..she has spent greatt deal of her time, of her life and done many great wrks on women's right..i have always been proud to be son of such strong mother and i hope someday i will make her proud to be my mother too, thats been one of my dream in life.:) .she has done alot for me, been through so much only for me ...so one day i hope to do the same..i love my mom, and i salute everymother in this world for their sacrifice in this little world for their children :)
and abt who will marry you, ooh! dont worry abt that honey, i am always here for u
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| GurL_Interrupted |
Posted
on 19-May-04 09:42 PM
Meeru,
That was a very thoughtful piece sweety :)! Proud of u babez 4 all ur accomplishments! Keep on dreaming & achieving ur dreams, keeping the sky ur limit! This world can make use of many more activists :)! Good luck with everything sis! Take care.
Sis this end!
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| u_day |
Posted
on 20-May-04 07:48 AM
Nice story Meera. Couldn't comment earlier because I was preoccupied with *** (wink wink).
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| meera |
Posted
on 20-May-04 08:49 PM
Thanks Confused, G_I, TMA and U_day for the comments.
I was in one of my moods when I wrote that story remembering those childhood days.
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| wateva |
Posted
on 21-May-04 09:41 AM
Excellent one Meeru... and thanks for thanking all the dad...they all deserve it... :'( sukka sukka... almost fell in love with ya for that ;) amazing piece!
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